The Tsunami

Satellite image of the 27th Dec '05 Tsunami

We Were there!
When the Tsunami hit the coasts of India, it sent shokwaves unto the mainland into the heatrs of those of us who felt responsible for the rescue of the survivors.
The most recent endeavor towards the good cause of service was during the recent natural disaster that rocked Asia in the end of 2004- the Tsunami, when I headed a team of six people to carry out rescue and relief work at Nagapattinam, a coastal district in Tamil Nadu, South India. The events that followed the night of 26th December in the aftermath of the Tsunami are still fresh in my mind and I would like to share my experiences.

“The heart has its reasons that reason does not understand”, was my reply when my girlfriend asked me why I had to volunteer to go Nagapattinam on the New Year’s Eve. I had promised a trip to the city to check out the night life and take a well deserved break for the New Year’s Eve party; after all, we’d been working too hard that month.

I had read the news on the evening of December 26th, and was overwhelmed by the death-toll and the number of people left homeless by the Tsunami. I took a stand and decided to help in the little way I could. I called up my friends and told them my plans and most of them immediately offered to join me in the noble endeavor and I managed to organize a team of six.

I contacted a Non Governmental Organization which had already begun rescue and relief operations there. Through the organization, I got a list of the basic necessities of the survivors along the coasts. I called a meeting with my team and chalked out a plan of action. I short-listed the supplies to food, medicines and drinking water. We drew a budget and raised funds and managed to collect about Rs. 50,000 in a matter of 8 hours. One of my neighbors donated about 600 kilos of food grains, while another funded the transport. The money we collected was put to buying the essential medicines.

our team(L-R): driver Annamalai, Dr Rajit, Dr Ashish, Myself, Dr VenuGopal, Dr Syed Tauqheer and Dr Vijay Lal

Everything assembled by the night of 27th, we decided to leave the next morning. It was a good 12 hour drive to Nagapattinam which was worst hit district in India. An estimated 10,000 people had died and another 25,000 were left homeless. It was disheartening and I felt morally concerned for the victims. We set off the next day in a truck with all our cargo and the team, not the least bit concerned for our own comfort.

The Tsunami revaged shipping village of Nagapattinam

The state of affairs at Nagapattinam was chaotic. The govt. was handling a majority of the relief work; besides, there were other groups from various places and also the NGO’s which had set up camps and relief centers. The main problem they were facing was organizing the entire rescue effort. There were people like us, individuals who had come from different places, everyone doing in bits and pieces and according to their whims and fancies. What lacked there was an organization to mobilize the resources on a common launch pad so as to be more effective in its delivery and wider in its reach. It was the 30th night and we got in touch with the other groups which had come in and discussed our ideas with them. We congregated at the town square, which was now covered in rubble, and decided on a common charter which was to govern our actions the next two days in the sole aim of reaching the affected and the needy in a consolidated and effective manner. We sat late that night in the moon light and the lights from our lanterns and drew a protocol. We mapped the villages along the coast and divided our man-power according to their population. We put down on paper, the responsibilities of every group and set deadlines. Our rendezvous would be at night for dinner, where we would review the effectiveness of the operation. Once the protocol was set, we parted on the note of a good night and retreated to our truck to catch some sleep.

Images showing the total collapse of the Social system. It was a free-for-all brawl for survival.

The whole operation of providing relief work was burdened by organizing the mob.

The next day was anarchic when we set out with our mission. The first stop was a village called Karaikal, which was a small fisherman-village and the scene there was heart-breaking. Everywhere we saw lay rubble and debris. Dead fish were sprawled all along the beach and the stench of carcasses was putrid. The survivors had lost everything- home, family, possessions; and were in an emotional wreck. We decided to set a camp there. We distributed food grains and water for the 600 odd survivors. It was a sight to witness when the village-head expresses his gratitude with tears in his eyes. It made my heart melt. We lunched with the fisher-folk and planned our strategy for the next village. We had to cover two more villages for the day and had spent a good amount of time at the first village.

piles of clothes lay in a rubble...

Our next two stops went as per plan; since the Red Cross Society had set up a medical camp there, we decided to give our stock of medicines to them to put it into good use. We distributed our last load of supplies for the day and headed out to the rendezvous point. The drive back was eerily silent. The team was exhausted emotionally and mentally at the plight of the victims.

At dinner, we exchanged our experiences and formulated the plans for the next day. It was New Year’s Eve and the time was about 11:45 pm. I thought about my girl friend and the party which I would’ve been to if I was not in Nagapattinam. And I felt I did the right thing. There were a lot more New Year’s Eve parties to come, but this gesture of helping the needy was a great way to start the year, I felt. The discussion ended that night with everyone wishing each other ‘Happy New Year’.

The operations on the last day went according to plan and the endeavor was emotionally satisfying. My trip to Nagapattinam is an experience I can never forget. I learnt a great deal about organizing activities in an atmosphere such as that. To communicate with people with language barriers and social barriers and get the job done was challenging and I got to experience a good deal of human emotions. Leading a team into a disaster-management operation was difficult and the challenges were many; but at the end of it all, it made sense.

When I got back and described my experience to my girlfriend, she was in tears and she said she was proud of me. We celebrated my small endeavor the next week of my return and the satisfaction it gave me was immense…

I always believe in giving back something in return for all the amazing and awe-inspiring things I get to experience every day of my life. If something like this were to happen again, God forbid, I will be ready with another team.